The Private Health Sector to support Health Benefit Advisory Panel
As a way to expand access to higher quality health services and achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) the government of Kenya is looking at public private partnership (PPP) so as to leverage capital, managerial capacity and know how from the private sector. The government of Kenya is also increasingly promoting PPPs as a means to unlock financing and expertise in vision 2030. Important strides have been made in order to build the necessary regulatory frameworks and support systems that can facilitate PPPs to add value to the health sector.
Kenya Healthcare Federation (KHF) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) committee identifies the gaps within the public health sector and advocates on how to fill the gaps. During the presidential round table and ministerial stakeholder forum. The PPP committee held its quarterly meeting at Kenya Healthcare Federation offices on 23rd August 2018.This was the first meeting held under the directorship Dr. Jacqueline Kitulu and Ms. Joyce Wanderi. The meeting was chaired by the committee director, Dr. Kitulu.
The committee has held several engagements with the ministry of health through Ministerial Stake holder Forum. During the eighth ministerial stakeholder forum, the health cabinet secretary, Mrs. Sicily Kariuki, who chaired the meeting , emphasized on Universal Health Coverage as big task that the ministry is looking at and requires a lot of time and resources, of which cannot get from the government alone. “With lots of requirement in terms of time and resources therefore, this is where the dialogue around Public – Private Partnership (PPP) is important and we should consider the future of PPPs in this sector. It is important that there is one side from the private sector.” Mrs. Sicily Kariuki Health CS.
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The ministry of health established a Benefits Advisory Panel that was tasked with coming up with costs and packages. The private sector was invited for a stakeholder engagement role. Dr. Amit Thakker – Chairman Kenya Healthcare Federation concurred with the CS where he emphasized that Inclusiveness is important as Ministerial Stakeholder Forum is made the epitome of Non-State Actors.
The benefit Advisory Panel invited Kenya Healthcare Federation that represents the private health sector for a stakeholder breakfast meeting at Sarova Panafric hotel on 3rd August 2018 to discuss more on the benefit package. It was noted that National Health Insurance Fund(NHIF) may be overburdened and cannot be relied on as the key financier for Universal Health Coverage however, the poor may not be covered. There was a consensus that the benefits advisory panel should share the package with the private sector, inorder to identify the gaps hence have discussions on how to fill the gaps.
KHF has held five county stakeholder engagements i.e. Kirinyaga, Makueni, Isiolo, Uasingishu and Kisumu to assess the financing models that have been established, identify the gaps hence advice on how to fill the gaps. There was a consensus on reviewing the PPP ACT and the committee should also ensure the PPP retreat should be planned this is because the health CS Mrs. Sicily Kariuki assured of her readiness to attend the retreat. There were elections carried out for the new committee chair and vice chair where Mr. Antony Okoth was re-elected to be the Committee chair and Dr.Christine Sadia as the vice chair.